Authored by Damiano Oldoni and Lien Reyserhove from INBO

INBO colleagues Lien Reyserhove (OneSTOP project) and Damiano Oldoni (GuardIAS project) conducted a productive two-day scientific exchange at the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN) facility at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, Italy.

The visit focused on exploring EASIN data and data sharing mechanisms, with particular attention to the EASIN Catalogue of Alien Species and the occurrence records generated by the Invasive Alien Species in Europe (IASE) web application.

Key topics discussed during the exchange included:

• Data workflow: Gaining deeper insights into EASIN's internal data processes and architecture

• Data structure and content: 

  • Examining the fields and structure of the EASIN Species Catalogue and GeoDatabase

  • Linking the EASIN Catalogue with the OneSTOP goal to produce a European list of introduced and invasive species

• Metadata development: Sharing experience about management of metadata to accompany published datasets

This collaboration represents an important step towards improving data sharing between EASIN and OneSTOP and greatly facilitates the broader research and conservation community.